CHENNAI: A section of railway staff, who appeared before the inquiry panel led by Senior Divisional Safety Officer (SDSO) of the Tiruchy Railway Division on Wednesday, informed the committee that the level crossing (LC) gate at Semmankuppam, located between Cuddalore Port and Alapakkam stations, was not closed by the gatekeeper at the time of the accident on Tuesday in which three schoolchildren died.
This lapse led to the Villupuram-Mayiladuthurai passenger train hitting the school van carrying four children at the level crossing, resulting in the three deaths and injuries to one more student, van driver, and a local resident who rushed to help the victims.
TNIE has learnt that the SDSO-headed panel was informed during the inquiry that gatekeeper Pankaj Sharma exchanged a two-digit ‘private number (PN)’ with the Station Master (SM) of Alapakkam — an essential safety protocol followed at non-interlocked level crossings to ensure that the gate has in fact been closed — without actually closing it.
Accident probe committee demands all railway records
A total of 13 people—including the station masters of Cuddalore Port and Alapakkam, the passenger train’s loco pilot and goods guard, two senior section engineers (permanent way), two chief loco inspectors, and a traffic inspector—were summoned for questioning at the Tiruchy Divisional Office.
C Sankar, the injured van driver recuperating in JIPMER in Puducherry, has also been issued summon to appear for inquiry. The investigation is headed by S Mahesh Kumar, SDSO, Tiruchy division.
The Southern Railway has also set up another committee headed by the Deputy Chief Safety Officer to independently investigate the incident.
Though the train was coming from Cuddalore Port, the LC gate 170 at Semmankuppam is under the control of Alapakkam. As per the protocol, the Cuddalore Port’s SM passes communication to Alapakkam’s SM, seeking clearance for the train. The latter then issues a PN to the gatekeeper at Semmankuppam, who logs it in a register and proceeds to close the gate. Once the gate is securely closed, the gatekeeper should confirm the closure by sharing a return PN with Alapakkam’s SM. Only after this, the clearance is granted for the train to pass.
Sources told TNIE that the Alapakkam SM, who had given clearance for the train’s movement, submitted documents to the inquiry panel, including the record showing the exchange of the PNs with the gatekeeper on Tuesday.
Moreover, during the inquiry, Alapakkam SM revealed that he received a call at 7.25am on Tuesday from Sharma, who admitted to forgetting to close the level crossing gate, which led to the collision. Another railway employee told the panel that he was informed between 7.30 and 7.35 am that the accident occurred due to the non-closure of the gate.
As per preliminary inquiry, Southern Railway, in a statement on Tuesday immediately after the accident, had said that Sharma, who had closed the gate, was pressured by the van driver to open the gate.
According to sources, the panel has requested all relevant official records for review. The committee’s aim is to determine the exact sequence of events that led to the accident and to recommend preventive measures. “All communication in the railways is recorded using a (electronic) data logger,” said an official.
“The statements of every staff member involved, including station masters and other on-duty personnel, will be cross-verified with the records, and suitable recommendations will be made,” an official explained.
Install cams at all LC gates: minister
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, after a review meet, has directed officials to install cameras at all level crossing gates and expedite interlocking of all pending LC gates